A high-ranking member of a Brentwood and Central Islip MS-13 clique was sentenced Tuesday to 60 years in federal prison for his role in seven Long Island murders, three attempted murders and other crimes committed during a violent period spanning 2016 and 2017, federal prosecutors said.
Jairo Saenz, 30, also known as “Funny,” was sentenced Sept. 15 by U.S. District Judge Gary R. Brown in Central Islip after previously pleading guilty to racketeering and related charges.
Saenz was a high-ranking member of the Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside clique of MS-13 and was second in command to his brother, Alexi Saenz, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Prosecutors said Jairo Saenz participated in or helped facilitate the murders of Michael Johnson, Oscar Acosta, Kayla Cuevas, Nisa Mickens, Javier Castillo, Dewann Stacks and Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla.
Many of the killings occurred in Brentwood and Central Islip. Castillo was killed in Freeport after prosecutors said MS-13 members lured him there from Central Islip.
Saenz was also held responsible for three attempted murders, an arson, narcotics trafficking, firearms offenses and a conspiracy to kill Marcus Bohannon, who was murdered in Central Islip by other MS-13 members in September 2016, prosecutors said.
Among the most widely known crimes were the September 2016 murders of 15-year-old Nisa Mickens and 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas, both students at Brentwood High School.
Prosecutors said members of the Sailors clique spotted the girls walking on Stahley Street in Brentwood and contacted the Saenz brothers for permission to kill them. Several gang members then chased and attacked the teenagers while the Saenz brothers drove nearby watching for police.
The two killings drew national attention to MS-13 violence on Long Island.
“Jairo Saenz and his brother Alexi were at the forefront of a violent reign of terror and bloodshed that plagued communities across Long Island for years,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said Saenz “was essentially a serial killer, having played a role in seven murders and three attempted murders.”
Federal prosecutors said the brothers also helped run a narcotics operation from approximately April 2016 through March 2017 that distributed cocaine and marijuana in Brentwood and surrounding communities. Proceeds were used in part to buy firearms, obtain more drugs and send money to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador.
Alexi Saenz pleaded guilty to related crimes in July 2024 and was sentenced in July 2025 to 68 years in federal prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Suffolk and Nassau county police departments.
The prosecution was handled by the Criminal Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York’s Long Island Division.
Photo: Jairo Saenz. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
